U.K. employers win powers to snoop on workers

LONDON (Reuters) -- Unions and Internet campaigners reacted angrily Wednesday to new British laws that they say will let unscrupulous employers snoop on personal phone calls and e-mail messages by their staff.

The government said it was loosening new rules that would have obliged companies to get their employees' consent before monitoring communications.

After listening to objections from about 80 firms and other organizations, they decided that employers should be able to access e-mails or voicemail for normal business practices.

These included things such as monitoring calls for training purposes, accessing e-mail to check for business correspondence that needed a response, or trawling for computer viruses.

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But the Trades Union Council (TUC) said the new laws gave bosses too much power to snoop.

"We don't think employers should be allowed to routinely screen e-mails and phone calls, and certainly not without consent," a TUC spokeswoman said.

The TUC wants employers and workers to establish a code of conduct on such issues together.

The rules on business are a delayed part of a wider new act that, among other things, obliges Internet services providers to install a "listening post" on their servers if the government requests, so it can intercept e-mail traffic to fight crime.

The new act, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP), became law this month and critics say it gives the government more sweeping surveillance powers than other Western countries.

British laws, however, usually have to comply with European Union directives and can also now be judged according to the new Human Rights Act that came into force at the start of October.

The TUC said the business communications rules -- that come into force October 24 -- could be one of the first pieces of legislation to be challenged under the new act.

"We could foresee a possible early challenge under the Human Rights Act," the spokeswoman said.

Cyber-activists also complained about the new bill.

"I would not expect someone to force open my filing cabinet if I am off sick with the flu," said Chris Evans of anti-regulation pressure group, Internet Freedom.

Employment lawyers said companies allowed employees to use the phone and the Internet for personal communications as a concession and that if they wanted to keep things private, they should use their own phone or Internet connection.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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